Crime Briefs: The great escape; suspect found asleep in back of stolen vehicle

On Sept. 10 just before midnight, an officer with the Parachute Police Department was dispatched to the Parachute Inn for a possible motor vehicle theft.

The hotel clerk noticed that a car was no longer in the parking lot. The car belonged to a 21-year-old female who was in the Garfield County Jail after having been arrested at 7 p.m. that same evening.

The female in custody said that no one had permission to take her vehicle.

The hotel clerk said that a male came and asked for a room key to retrieve his belongings from her room. He was allowed in the room to do so.

The officer observed from the surveillance video that the male entered the room at 8 p.m. Two minutes later, he left the room.

A minute after that he entered the driver’s seat of the female’s vehicle and drove off. The man’s driver’s license was revoked and had seven additional active restraints.

Later that night, the Rifle Police Department located the vehicle near the Lions Pond Circle in Rifle. The suspect was sleeping in the back of the car and was arrested.

Man starts fights in return from jail

In July, a man got out of jail and immediately went to a home in Rifle home and beat up two individuals.

When the officer arrived to the home, one of the victims “who was lying on the floor at the bottom of the stairs with his hand over his left eye wearing a ripped shirt” said the suspect came to his home and started screaming. He punched one of the individuals in the home and then punched the other twice.

One of the victims said he did not want to press charges, because he didn’t believe going back to prison was going to fix anything. The other individual who was struck said he did want to press charges. The suspect was arrested on charges including assault in the third degree.

Man causes trouble in Rifle

On Aug. 25, just before 6 p.m., an officer was dispatched to a home in Rifle where a male individual was said to have pointed a firearm at another individual.

After a short altercation at his residence, a male individual said he walked out of his garage and was met by a male party who pointed a handgun at him, according to the arrest affidavit.

The man then went back inside his home and moved everyone inside the residence out of the living room and the upstairs rooms to get them out of harm’s way.

The suspect later pointed his gun at several individuals asking where his brother was.

As police personnel attempted to locate the suspect, one of the officers said they knew the suspect from a previous contact with law enforcement.

Officers ran his name through the database and a protection order was issued for him. The protection order prohibited the suspect from possessing or purchasing a firearm.

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